Last week the President outlined a number of new interventions designed to mitigate COVID spread this winter. Here’s an outline of what was announced last week. The intervention plan includes the following categories:
- Boosters for All Adults
- Vaccinations to Protect Our Kids and Keep Our Schools Open
- Expanding Free At-Home Testing for Americans
- Stronger Public Health Protocols for Safe International Travel
- Protections in Workplaces to Keep Our Economy Open
- Rapid Response Teams to Help Battle Rising Cases
- Supplying Treatment Pills to Help Prevent Hospitalizations and Death
- Continued Commitment to Global Vaccination Efforts
- Steps to Ensure We Are Prepared for All Scenarios
I won’t go into the particulars here (you can review for yourself) but among the most significant are that private health insurance plans will be required to reimburse for buying home test kits. Test kits will be free at community health centers, and there will be more outreach/access points of adult boosters and childhood vaccines.
The requirement that in-bound jet passengers test negative 24 hours before departure (regardless of vaccination status) makes sense but the complete ban on inbound travel from 8 African countries makes no sense, particularly in light of the requirement for a negative test 24 hours before departure.
